My favourite is probably the Daytona racing game because I have fond memories of playing it with my school friends. "Old video games are still fun and they are simpler because you don't have to put 50 hours into them like modern day games that want you to play forever and forever. We just kept them at home or in the garage and eventually the unit where the arcade is based is what we used as our workshop to fix and store them. Phil said: "The first one we bought was Star Wars and that was about 25 years ago. They are mostly all ones that have needed to be fixed making them cheaper to buy. The machines that are in the arcade have been sourced from eBay or groups on Facebook where people swap old machines. We saw other people had opened old video games arcades up and down the country and we had been collecting machines ourselves for a long time as a hobby and felt it was a shame to not let people play them." The machines are a bit old so we wanted to make sure they didn't all die on us! Phil recalled: "Initially we just opened the arcade at weekends to see if the idea would work. We hope we are bringing some of that back and it’s been fantastic that some of the games now have groups of regular players who meet up to play and challenge each other.”īoneyard Arcade opened last August and is co-owned by Phil, 44, and his brother who both share a love of gaming and restoring old machines. “Seaside arcades were a big part of growing up for a lot of people in Devon and though they’re still there, video games aren’t as common to see as they once were and became more of a thing done at home, which led to the loss of the local social aspect. It’s great to see people young and old alike trying to beat each others scores on Pac-Man or seeing who will come first in a race on Daytona USA.īoneyard Arcade in Exeter (Image: Boneyard Arcade) Phil said: “No matter how old the games in the arcade might be, they’re still proving to be lots of fun, not only for the people that remember them as they grew up but for people who have never experienced them before. For Phil, it is a dream come true to see the look of joy on peoples' faces as they get to play games they haven't played in decades and watching the forgotten fun come flooding back, or experience it for the first time. Retro machines, including pinball games, stand side by side in the arcade that is currently open four days a week. Read more: Exeter Airport costs warning amid travel surge It is dedicated to keeping old games working from the vintage 1970s black and white games like Asteroids and Space Invaders through to the 'modern' 1990s hits like Sega Rally and Time Crisis 2. However, gaming fan Phil Jones has spent many hours tirelessly searching for those classic games to bring them back in one venue in Exeter that has become a nostalgic gaming paradise.īoneyard Arcade, located just behind Sidwell street on Red Lion Lane in one of the few remaining post-war industrial units, only has video games. Vintage classics like Space Invaders to retro games like Donkey Kong and Sonic the Hedgehog are a long distant memory for most people who will have long sold or chucked out their gaming consoles for more hi-tech versions. Modern day gaming now offers incredibly realistic graphics that submerges you into an almost real looking world of adventures, but still as addictive and equally enjoyable, if not more so for older gaming fans, is nostalgic video games that magically transport you straight back into your childhood.
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